I interned at Daimler-Benz and assembly line workers had company-employed drink trolleys which would take your order early in the shift for what partially subsidized drinks/snacks you wanted delivered for your breaks during your shift. A tone would sound in the factory and workers would converge on the break area near them and pick up what they’d ordered earlier that day. On the menu was beer and plenty of workers would have multiple beers over the course of their shift.

These weren’t what you picture when someone says “perpetually drunk and homeless”, but I think a lot of Mercedes were assembled by workers with a perpetual low-level of alcohol on-board.